Politics Wires

Romney heads to friendly turf in Israel

 

McClatchy Newspapers

According to Democratic pollster Jim Gerstein, few voters place Israel as high on their list of issues as Gallagher. Citing Gallup and Pew polls, Gerstein said that Israel didn’t rank in the top 10 of issues voters considered on Election Day – even among Jewish voters. He argued that all signs pointed to a Jewish American voting base that was strongly entrenched in the Democratic Party.

“Even with the slight lessening of support for Obama, and we are talking about a couple of points, I don’t see it making a real difference,” said Gerstein.

Obama, meanwhile, also has campaigned heavily for the Jewish vote.

On Friday morning, Obama with considerable fanfare was photographed in the Oval Office signing the United States-Israel Enhanced Security Cooperation Act. The law gives Israel $70 million in military support and significantly expands cooperation between the U.S. and Israeli militaries. Just days before Romney’s visit, it successfully stole headlines in Israel away from the Republican’s planned trip and fundraiser.

The White House rejected suggestions that the signing – the day before Romney arrives in Israel – was politically motivated. Press Secretary Jay Carney said Congress passed the bill earlier this month and sent it to Obama for signing last week. His first opportunity to sign the measure was Friday, Carney said, as he’d been out of town all week.

"The timing of the passage and the signing of this legislation was not up to us, but up to Congress," Carney said. "I understand the coincidence. But the fact is our cooperation with Israel on its security is a subject we could discuss every day."

Lesley Clark of the Washington Bureau contributed from Washington.

Frenkel is a McClatchy special correspondent

Read more Politics Wires stories from the Miami Herald

  • Bipartisan proposal on student loans circulating

    A bipartisan group of senators is floating a proposal that would avoid the doubling of rates on student loans on July 1.

  •  

Boxes of unclassified documents sit on a cart at the National Declassification Center in College Park, Maryland

    Secrets piling up faster than government can declassify some

    In the darkened stacks of a nondescript building in the suburbs outside Washington, dozens of federal employees wearing protective gloves spend day after day sifting through millions of pages of secret documents, some of them nearly a century old. The 70 staffers of the National Declassification Center are charged with deciding – anonymously and quietly – which of the nation’s old secrets can be laid bare for the world to see.

  •  

FBI Director Robert Mueller testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, June 19, 2013, before the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on national security matters. As Mueller nears the end of his 12 years as head of the law enforcement agency, lawmakers questioned him about the IRS, surveillance activities, and the Boston Marathon bombing.

    Mueller: FBI uses drones but very seldom

    FBI Director Robert Mueller (MULL-er) says the law enforcement agency uses drones for surveillance but does so rarely.

Miami Herald

Join the
Discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere on the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

The Miami Herald uses Facebook's commenting system. You need to log in with a Facebook account in order to comment. If you have questions about commenting with your Facebook account, click here.

Have a news tip? You can send it anonymously. Click here to send us your tip - or - consider joining the Public Insight Network and become a source for The Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald.

Hide Comments

This affects comments on all stories.

Cancel OK

  • Videos

  • Quick Job Search

Enter Keyword(s) Enter City Select a State Select a Category